Best of U.S. divers splash into Athens

The best divers the United States has to offer will be in Athens today through Sunday for the U.S. Diving World Championship Trials at the University of Georgia's Gabrielsen Natatorium.

The natatorium first hosted a world championship event in the fall of 1997, with the selection of the 1998 World Championship (Perth, Australia) team.

But Georgia diving coach Dan Laak said the natatorium will host a first this time with the addition of the men's and women's synchronized 3-meter and platform competitions.

The trials also will feature individual men's and women's competitions on the 3-meter springboard and 10-meter platform. The top two male and female athletes in each individual event and the top team in each synchronized event will be named to the World Championship team.

''For us to host it for the second time in five years is pretty good,'' Laak said. ''A lot of people recognize this as one of the best facilities in the country, and they like being in Athens.''

Laak said this is the first step for competitors on the road to making the 2004 Olympic team, and that five of the seven athletes who were on the 2000 U.S. Olympic team - Laura Wilkinson, who won a gold medal on the platform, Michelle Davison, Sara (Reiling) Hildebrand, Troy Dumais and Mark Ruiz - will compete at the trials.

''This is a very elite meet,'' Laak said. ''These are the best divers in the U.S. They are all here. We're just real excited to have something like this here.''

Synchronized diving first appeared in the Olympic Games in 1996. Laak said the event should provide a lot of excitement considering the divers will stand a couple of inches apart and will be judged on how well they execute their dive and their synchronization.

The cost for the preliminaries is $3 for adults and $1 for students 18 and under $1. The cost for the finals is $5 for adults and $2 for students.

All-session passes are $25 for adults and $10 for students. All tickets and passes can be purchased at the door.

One-meter participants will be selected from team members by the coaching staff.

The 10th FINA World Championships will be held July 13-20 in Barcelona, Spain.